Saturday, January 19, 2008 2:38 PM
posted by Aric Thorpe

The kingdom of heaven comes not with observation

The scriptures declare that Jesus Christ is the head of the church saying, “…and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22). He is the chief corner stone of God’s building, of his doing, elect and precious but rejected of most of the Jews upon His earthly arrival and ministry (1 Peter 2:6). However, the “same stone that the builders rejected, God made the head of the corner” (I Peter 2;7). You see, Jesus did not come to set up a earthly kingdom; if His kingdom was of this earth His servants would have fought that He should not be delivered into the hands of those that crucified Him (John 18:36).

The kingdom of Christ is one that was to be composed of believers. As Jesus spoke to His disciples in John 14:17 saying “…the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” And again in Luke 17:20-21 He spoke, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” You see we are His church, His body, His temple, His kingdom here on this earth (1 Corinthians 12:27, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 4:12). As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

The Jews, God’s chosen people, rejected Jesus because they were looking for an earthly king (Luke 19:11). Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom but a heavenly. His kingdom was not to be of this world but He came to give us an avenue through which to have peace with God. That avenue was His blood that He shed on the cross. Jesus, when speaking about His death in the garden said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27). Jesus knew that His purpose was to atone for the sins of the world through His blood. “Shall I say, Father deliver me from this hour?” Jesus asked. He indicated, no, “…it is for this cause that I came to this hour.” Before His death Jesus said in John 6:53, “…except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” Matthew 16:21- 23 gives an account of Jesus dealing with Peter’s confusion regarding His kingdom saying:

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

Peter expected that Jesus was to be their earthly king and therefore spoke, “Lord be it far from thee” (that you should die). Jesus responded using strong language saying, “get thee behind me, Satan… you are an offence to me.. you savor not the things that be of God.”

It is important to understand that while God’s promise to the Jews of a coming Messiah “was and is true,” the “form” in which they thought that He would come was not achieved for them; as a result, they rejected Him. They were looking for a kingdom. Truly a kingdom has come but “not of this world,” as Jesus spoke. They were looking for a strong conquering king, not, as the scriptures describe Him, a humble king of the people, who loved the poor and sinners, riding on a foal of an ass (Matthew 21:5). They were expecting a deliverer from earthly, political, and territorial bondages, not, as the scriptures describe, a healer, a redeemer, that offered them deliverance from a much greater foe of that found in death and the devil. In fact, the Jews were so undecided, confused, and misguided in their perceptions that they were not even sure of whether or not their even was a resurrection, a afterlife (Acts 23:8). Nevertheless, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), to liberate from wickedness, and to renew all things (Romans 8:21).

At that time, the Jews were focused on a much smaller picture, a picture focused on their kingdom, the things of their pride, their land. But God came in the person of Christ to do something much greater than all of that. I encourage Jews and non-believing gentiles to take another look at the prophecies.

Here is a starting point from the Christian categorization of the prophets and Torah:

Genesis 3:15, Micah 5:2, Isaiah 50:6, Zec.12:10, Hosea 6:2, Psalms 16:10, 49:15, Isaiah 7:14, Jeremiah 31:15- Matthew 2:16-18, Hosea 11:1- Matthew 2:14-15, Judges 13:5- Matthew 2:23, Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 53:1-12, Psalms 22:14-18, Psalms 68:18, 24:3, Genesis 49:10, Isa.11:1-5; 2Sam.7:13, Isaiah 9:7, Zechariah 11:12- Psalm 41:9- Mark 14:10- Matthew 26:14-15, Psalms 69:4, 35:19, 109:3-5, Isaiah 53:9, Zechariah 13:7, Psalm 110:1